Mith notified Kynos that they had both turned nine two weeks and some change into the journey.

They both wore clothing half from old pirate sail canvas, and half from stitched leaves. The school uniforms were too tattered, and had been cut into pieces and presented to the various families of the tribe before they left. They kept only the insignia, which were both stitched into a dark green flag made from a particularly large leaf, placed above their sail.

Mith carried a short bow and wore a quiver of arrows with stone arrowheads strapped to her waist, having become a first-class archer due to boredom. Her broken rapier had been given to Himi, who wore it like a treasure. She was also adept with the spears strapped to various places on the boat, in the case that they needed to fight a marine monster.

Kynos wore a crabshell dagger, tucked into a rope sash. It was the best item the village had to offer, handmade by the village elder, who was mostly retired after Mith had assumed his few duties. He was still weak in terms of raw strength, but the agility from daily sparring and the amount of practice he had put into magic put him on the same combat level as a full-fledged mage. Had another seven kids been brave enough to go after him, he could've massacred them all using minimal effort.

They had indeed fought a sea monster, just once. A giant fish with a ridiculous amount of fins and spiky teeth had been chasing a mermaid, who swam towards their ship in panic. Kynos made an explosive arrow for Mith by cladding an arrowhead in a thin layer of fire, followed by a layer of shadow. That arrow flew into the water and impacted inside the mouth of the giant piranha, causing it to flail wildly. A second arrow tore into an eye and enraged it, causing it to rush the Leviathan Mk. I.

Kynos had skewered it with the shadow cast by the sails before Mith could stab with her spear. The mermaid placed her hands on the side of the boat in thanks, and did a few flips out of the water for them. Mith grumbled about breast size as Kynos deftly filleted the monster fish with magic and pulled two slabs of meat out of the water. The mermaid took the remains and disappeared.

A day later, the mermaid had returned and was swimming leisurely beside the ship. Kynos fed it a piece of dried fish before Mith reminded him about rationing, and the three traveled together for a number of days. Occasionally the mermaid would share her catch, and to thank her, Mith, or rather Kynos at Mith's direction, made her a necklace from the shells of the food she shared.

On the fourth day, the mermaid waved goodbye and turned back. Kynos and Mith waved back, and resumed their journey.

They replenished supplies by trawling a net behind them, and Kynos was able to do rudimentary cooking by using fire magic. They also kept buckets of water on board in case of fire, and for ease of drinking.

Mith increased the frequency and length of the tutoring sessions to alleviate her boredom, and Kynos did his best to bear with it. In actuality, though Mithandra was a peerless genius in this world, Kynos was already nearing the university level in several subjects as well.

They continued sailing west, and Mith continued to mark notches on a spear to track the days. After a month, they saw a corvette sailing at abnormal speeds against the wind. It bore a purple flag with a black anchor.

It was the wind mage retainer that had also transported them on the last stretch of the wagon journey a year ago. They had finally rendezvoused with Mathias' fleet.